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Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Was This a Great Country or What?

Fantastic news! Harry Reid has defeated Sharon Angle!

Other than that juicy tidbit the news is pretty bleak across the political landscape.The American people's lack of understanding with regard to the history of their country has always been frustrating enough. But their complete inability to even remember the last ten years makes you want to pull your hair out. Have they been asleep for the last decade? Apparently they have! Yesterday they pointed the proverbial pistol at their heads - AGAIN. Shit Mountain is about to undergo a massive mudslide - and we're all gonna get buried, baby! The political cataclysm is upon us. Welcome to the United States of Amnesia! Enjoy your stay!

Perhaps "amnesia" is not the proper diagnosis. Maybe "insanity" is the better term. "Insane" is what they call people who repeat the same mistake over and over, expecting a different result with each repetition. That works for me. Americans ees dah craziest peepole!

I have been silently (and shamefully) celebrating all night long. In fact I have no recollection of what happened after 10PM - the alcohol-induced buzz was that strong. And I have every reason to celebrate, thank you very much! I am, after all, one of the few people in this once-great nation that earns under two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars a year who will benefit from the electoral tragedy that occurred last evening. I have had delivered to my doorstep - gift wrapped, no less - at least two years of dynamite material. For someone who makes his or her name commenting on the train-wreck of American politics, this is a great time to be alive. The more pathetically dumbed-down this country becomes, the higher my stock rises. Thank you, America. Your utter fucking stupidity is my ultimate reward. I am humbled and grateful.

NOTE TO MY REPUBLICAN FRIENDS:Now, folks, please try not to take that last paragraph too personally. I know every one of you are very intelligent, decent human beings. I wouldn't choose you as my friends were that not the case. But, given all that we now know about the nutty party you're registered with, a vote for the GOP yesterday was (and I say this without an ounce of equivocation) a monumentally, mind-numbinglystupid vote. Please, you need to turn off FOX Noise. There. I said it. Love ya!

Still it has to be conceded that the Democrats got exactly what they deserved on Election Day 2010. So many of them have spent the last two years running like frightened rats from the legacy of their party. Most of them refused to embrace the ideals of traditional liberalism - or even explain them - to their clueless constituency. In fact they ran from those ideals. If you happen to be driving down Route 9W in the vicinity of Hyde Park, NY this morning, a distinct rumbling can be clearly heard. If you're traveling north, the noise is coming from the rose garden of a mansion on your left. It is the sound of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt doing somersaults in their graves. They wouldn't recognize that worthless party today. The Dems have one thing to be thankful for, though. The carnage that was inflicted on them last night would have been much greater had Republican voters not foolishly nominated so many certified kooks during the primary season. Isn't life wonderful?

All across the board the results were too grim to even contemplate. A reactionary twit named Rand Paul will be representing Kentucky in the United States senate until at least the year 2017. Isn't that a lovely thought? This is the same jackass who came out against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I am a descendant of generations of Kentuckians. My maternal grandfather Walter Clements was a native of Louisville. That's a photograph of him on the left, taken when he was a young man. I've always been proud of my ancestral connection with that state. I'm not proud anymore. In fact I'm embarrassed by the association. Besides, their bourbon is overrated. Screw those people.

A special tip of the hat is due to the good folks of the great state of Wisconsin. Last night they tossed out one of the two greatest senators of my lifetime "for a pompous, lying, tea-sippin idiot who has stated his admiration for working conditions in friggin' China!" Those are the words of a correspondent of mine named Eloise Bradley. That's okay, Eloise. Russ Feingold was too good for those heartland hillbillies anyway. I have a funny feeling that they're going to miss him when he's gone. Assholes.

Wait! It gets worse! The people of Minnesota have re-elected Michelle Bachman.How a state that gave us Bob Dylan and Judy Garland can produce something as disgusting as that is a mystery that historians will be pondering down the ages, I'm sure.

The biggest disappointment last night (for me at least) occurred in New York state's nineteenth district. Two term congressman John Hall has been given the boot. Back in the seventies he was the lead singer and guitarist for the group Orleans. It was John who wrote and sang the soft rock standard Dance With Me ("Night is falling and I am calling - Dance with meeeee"). His defeat last night was cosmic payback for that little musical atrocity, I suppose. Still he was a good congressman and a smart guy. He got seriously stomped by a Tea Party robot and uber dingbat named Nan Hayworth. Nice.

Another local disappointment was the defeat of the candidate for NY State Senate, David Sager. He came close to ousting a twelve-year Republican incumbent named John Bonacic. It's a shame because he would have made an outstanding senator. Perhaps some day he shall. Sager won't be fading away anytime soon, that's for sure. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was about the outcome of this particular race. As far as local politics go, my candidates never win. The Hudson Valley/Catskill area of New York is one of the most beautiful places in the country. It has been the inspiration of generations of artists, writers, poets, and painters. The people who reside here are lovely. Just as nice as can be! But they're a bit dense - obviously.

"We have met the enemy and he is us."

-Walt Kelly

The voters were manipulated like silly putty this year. They actually believe that the mess their country finds itself in was created by Barack Obama - when in fact it wasn't. They think that Obama is a radical socialist - when in fact he's nothing of the sort. They even believe they're being taxed more by this president - when in fact ninety-five percent of them are being taxed less. Most of the people who describe themselves as "conservative" refuse to even acknowledge that the guy is an American citizen. When a citizenry find themselves as massively ill-informed as this, societal disaster is all-but-inevitable. Expect the same kind of persecution of this administration that dogged the Clinton White House twelve years ago. Count on it.

The results of last night's electoral disaster can be summed up very handily: On the second of November 2010, the American people committed economic suicide. They sent a message that they are upset at what has happened to their country. Their solution? Handing the House of Representatives back to the political party that is mostly responsible for the financial catastrophe they are now experiencing. I wish I were making this up. I'm not. They deserve everything that is going to happen to them. Everything.

Tom DeganGoshen, NYtomdegan@frontiernet.net

AFTERTHOUGHT:

Special thanks to cousin Jeremy Hook Degan for the photograph at the top of this piece. It speaks volumes. That's Jeremy on the right, eloquently expressing what I'm feeling at the moment. One picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Standing next to him in the photo is his brother Nick Degan. Don't I have the coolest family? Seriously!

I couldn't watch the train wreck last night. I knew my soaring blood pressure would result in a stroke.

I wish I could say that I am surprised, but a country that elected George Bush for a second term is a country full of dim bulbs who don't have a clue as to what they have done. Idiots all. Unfortunately, the rest of us wil have to suffer the consequences.

Nothing really surprising, except I did expect Angle to win. I guess she just finally got a little too crazy (as opposed to what, I'm not quite sure -- ), even for Nevada.

I believe this country died as a great nation the year it elected Bush in 06. That was our tipping point. We're perched on the edge of something that means that, like the British, will require us to redefine ourselves. We're not the country we once were. We're a corporate-ocracy, run by NewsCorp and Koch Industries, Tesco and JP Morgan Chase. Somehow, they've convinced the average American that what's good for the corporations is good for America. That might have been true once -- not anymore.

But people are sheep. And people are puppets. And, sadly and most importantly, people have no idea how the universe works. You cannot vote AGAINST something. You are always, always, always voting FOR something. And if you only pay attention to what you're voting against, you'll find that a fast ball, low and outside, just whizzed past you, and you got caught looking.

It is disappointing but not as bad as was possible. Some of the losses were the fault of the ones running as much as the party loyalties. I don't think Conway helped himself when he ran that ad about Paul's actions in college. He had a chance right up until then.

In Oregon we bucked the tide which makes me proud of our voters but it should not have been close for DeFazio and it was.

Frankly I am sick of politics and negativity and while I might read blogs like yours, I won't be writing about it myself. I'll pick it back up when it can make a difference. Constant anger isn't good for a person's health!

Very good peice Tom. I love your writing and have been a closet fan for awhile. Don't be too down, as an elections consultant Ive seen this many times before with Republican and Democratic presidents in the White House.

These guys can only fuck this up.

The American people are quick to anger, but when the propaghanda and hyperbole has died down and these extremists try to do anything too stupid, the American people have my confidence that they will come to thier senses....hopefully.

Gee Harley, all I meant was a planet with life intelligent enough not to allow its rulers to be sociopaths or psychopaths like we do on Earth. You would be amazed how kind people can be when treated well and given a fair deal. We should try that approach on Earth someday !! To answer a previous question of yours in another post......the people doing the exploiting are mentally ill. They aren't " good or bad " just SICK. They have been believing their own deluded bullshit for so long it has become their reality.

You can retreat into the delusion of your intellectual superiority all you want. It’s a lonely place, though. Few of us will join you. I will stand up for the ones you folks so flippantly call idiots. I’m tired of hearing it. Keep it to yourself, I say. Chew on that.

Back in the day - years ago! - the phrase was "America! Love it or leave it!"

I gotta say that I'm feeling somewhat conflicted about all this. On the one hand, I continue to be mystified at some of the electoral choices made by my countrymen. On the other hand, I can't in good conscience call my fellow Americans "idiots." Not that there aren't a few out there, but that's too much of a blanket statement for me to make.

Instead, I'll just observe that, like always, we get the government we truly deserve. If the new crop of Representatives and Senators comes in and does badly, in two or six years (depending on the office in question), we'll be able to dis-employ them from their new jobs. If they do well, on the other hand, measured by how well the country thrives in their time in office, then those of us who don't like the way the country seems to be going, can scratch our heads and wonder all about that.

Either way, we have two options - we can either love our country (misguided though it may be) or we can just get the hell out (and no one will be sorry to see us leave). Me, I'm staying. I don't know what the next few years are going to look like, but I'm not going to quit advocating or letting my opinion be heard. If you don't like something, don't be some worthless bag of meat - write, blog, phone, email, and rock the boat. We can all still do those things, and heaven help the dummy who tries to outlaw them.

I choose to take a more optimistic view that the glass is half full rather than half empty. While it is true that the GOP took back the House, the Democrats still control the Senate so there will have to be some give and take.

Next, let's all just agree that nothing is going to be accomplished during the next two years. It will be straight gridlock. For all of the GOP chest thumping, they will be limited by a Democratic Senate and a president with veto powers for their more extreme measures.

Now that they have a bit of a majority, the Republicans are going to actually have to do something rather than just sit back and say "no". Boehner is going to have to drag his butt off of the tanning bed and out of the bar and actually work for a change. And believe me this is going to be fun to watch. I look forward to his trying to hold together a coalition of old white men with the Tea Partiers yapping at his heels like a pack of chihuahuas going after the postman. Believe me, it ain't going to be easy or pretty.

Lastly when the great unwashed realize two years from now that they are still no better off than they are now and the rich have been given more tax breaks, they will change course and come after the GOP with their torches and pitchforks.

All well said.I, however, reside in NM1 - which re-elected Martin Heinrich (D) to a second term. In 2008 he became the FIRST Dem to represent the district since it was created in 1968. The GOP challenger - despite an extremely negative campaign & close to $3Mn in out-of-state PAC $$$ - did not prevail. I'll strut for a while, as a citizen of one of the country's few SANE congressional districts!

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said “the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

former Representative Dick Armey of Texas, who as House Republican leader squared off against Mr. Clinton at the time and today is a prime Tea Party promoter. “Personally, I think he’s already lost his re-election.”

The only thing these men are focusing on is how to win the presidency next time. They're always "running." It's all about the game, and more & more, not about winning fair & square, but just verbally battering and abusing your opponent.

For the next four years, Boehner's job is to work WITH Pres. Obama and members of both parties to achieve some positive things. All they do is compete. (Compete for WHAT? There's no accomplishment, just more Competing.)

"Competition" for its own sake, nastier and nastier, is in overdrive in our society. It's unproductive. People imitate the politicians AND the silly competition / "reality" shows -- is all the dumb stuff in the media there to -- a) distract us, and b) increase the stupidity level?I am still young, but I am old enough to remember when it wasn't this way. There was more Sense and less Mindless bashing. In all sectors of our national Life.Something's off.

The root of the problem is that is all they are ABLE to do - all they are qualified to do. I'm not a Democrat, but give me a Moynihan - I'd vote for him so fast, your head would spin. He was bright, well educated, wasn't born into wealth, genteel, and worked for America. I wouldn't see eye to eye with everything he believed, but I could respect him. As it stands, other than a select few, we've got NOTHING to chose from.

Something is just not quite right at the moment. Ok there's a lot not quite right.

But what I mean is certain things are happening that are making absolutely no sense.

The US government is basically running a printing press. AIG have come back for another bailout. Their decrepit auto industry has got their hand out. They're committing trillions and trillions of dollars. Hey San Clause where's me f...ing bailouit? If they give money to the big 3 autos they will be back in 3 months asking for more because they made losses during good times and now new car sales in the US have dropped 50% in the last 2 months. Plus their cars are gas guzzling shit boxes. Their executives are overpaid and so are their workers.

Now other countries are doing bailouts too but nowhere near to the extent the US is. And a lot of what other countries are doing are as a result of their US interests. ie. USB got stuck with a bunch of bad Lehman Brothers paper. Northern Rock and HSBC's problem were primarily a result of US interests.

But the US dollar has been rising which makes no sense. It's under some false notion that the US is a safe haven. In 1971 Nixon got rid of the gold standard which could yet prove to be very significant.

The US is printing money like there's no tomorrow so the currency should be continuing on it's downward spiral over the last 6 ro 8 years and Gold should be rising significantly in times like this. The opposite has happened in the last 3 months.

But here's what's interesting. The paper value of gold is about $750 an ounce but it's very difficult to buy physical gold at anywhere near that price. At the same tim middle Eastern countries are buying huge gold reserves.

There is a lot we're not being told. IMO this is a significant recession. The UK is just officially entereing recession but anyone in business iknows that we've been in recession for atleast 6 months.

We're not even close to hearing the worst of the bad news in America. The Dow is running at around 8000 points. It could go a lot lower IMO.

Now China, Japan etc are not going to keep lending the US money. The US can't afford what it's already commited to.

I personally believe something major regarding the US dollar and/or gold will happen in the next 6 to 12 months.

What that will be I don't know. But the current system where the US dollar is the reserve currency a - currency backed by debt and nothing but a printing press is not sustainable.

I'm going to stick my neck out here. At least some of these things will happen in 2010 and beyond.

1) The US dollar index which is a measure against 6 major currencies will drop by atleast 25% possilby even 50% and it will be dumped as the world reserve currency. What will replace it I don't know. It could be a new Bretton Woods agreement with a gold standard. A world currency perhaps I don't know. The Swiss Franc and Asian currencies will be big benificiaries.

2) Something very major will happen with gold and/or silver.

3) The US treasury could lose it's AAA rating.

4) At some point I believe the Chinese Government will start dumping their US treasury notes and cutting their losses and look to their own growing economy for consumers. Consequently their value will also disappear.

5) The real estate market in the US will continue to decline possilby by a further 20 30 even 40%. You can now not pay your mortgane for 3 months and if your mortgage is backed by Freddie or Fannie you can re-negotiate your mortgage to 38% of your income. People will work this system something chronic.

Is this far fetched? I actually think it's far fetched that the current system will continue. And let's imagine that it's November 16th 2006 and these predictions were made.

1) The worlds biggest insurance company AIG will go under and be prppped up by the government.

2) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will collapse financially and lose 95% of their value.

3) Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merril Lynch will go bankrupt but the US government will bail out what it chooses.

4) THe US real estate market will collapse and there will be a 50% correction.

5) Credit card Companies will also need to be bailed out.

Big changes of the world as we know it are yet to come. But I actuallly think it could be good in the long term as the world moves away from their reliance on the US.

The US is trying to get people spending again by releasing more credit and proping up industry. It's not going to work and the Rethugs will make it worse!

I couldn't agree more - specifically on the loss that John Hall took. I just assumed such a decent, caring representative would win over a tea party nut job in our progressive state. I cried when I saw the results.

It feels like the country is under mass hypnosis. The one with the most money swings the pocket watch... It would be a lot more fun if the post hypnotic suggestion was to crow like a rooster or something every time you heard the word "socialist" or something.

"The Dems have one thing to be thankful for, though. The carnage that was inflicted on them last night would have been much greater had Republican voters not foolishly nominated so many certified kooks during the primary season."

Weren't we lucky?! And the people who don't vote for mid-terms didn't vote again. And there's this whole big, wide open area to the left of the Blue Dogs waiting to be inhabited by the Dems for 2012, when the ones who don't vote for mid-terms get fired up to vote again. And all those fabulous teachable moments ahead in the next two years. Woo-hoo!

We need to send all you Blue State self-proclaimed intellectually superior social engineers to Cuba to replace their intellectually inferior social engineers and turn that country around. If you can show some results, like an improvement of the current shithole standard of living experienced by the Cuban people, we will let you central planners have control in the US.

Within the past few years, Cuba's national toilet paper company could not produce enough toilet paper for the Cuban people. Central Planning at its finest.

Archie

P.S. Why is it Tom that all the Blue States run by your kind are Bankrupt?

Archie:I think we should send the author and governor moonbeam to Cuba. I am perfectly confident in their managerial ability to solve a toilet paper shortage. The island residents would have nothing to eat under their policies, so there would be nothing to wipe.

Tom-Glad you like the photo of the boys in Aspen-happens to be one of my favorites-since I took the photo! thank god California isnt a complete dissappointment-compared to the rest of the country-the left coast still is rocking-hope all is well with you-loved the fact my boys made your blog.xoxo Jill

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"Sad but oh so true.Like Darlene, I couldn't stomach watching the train wreck on Tuesday night.So where do we go from here? Should we board a boat like the 'Ship of Fools' and try to find a better place to live? I'm at a loss.To quote Scarlett O'Hara "I'll think about it tomorrow" I need to lay down, I have a headache all over my body...

Meanwhile in the state least connected to common reality that I call home, Floridians hand the state house over to a guy who was CEO of the a company that committed the largest Medicare fraud in history, and also sent progressive hero Allen Grayson packing from the House.

"Oh, Grayson was obnoxious."

No, he was mad as hell, and for good reason.

"Oh, but no one at HCA was ever indicted .."

Citizens United, baby. The Supremes just institutionalized what has been going on for years.

Most of them refused to embrace the ideals of traditional liberalism - or even explain them - to their clueless constituency. In fact they ran from those ideals.And this just proves that the Democrat party will have to move to the right. In fact, everything proves that they'll have to. That's why the Blue Dogs were wiped out; they weren't right far enough.

The carnage that was inflicted on them last night would have been much greater had Republican voters not foolishly nominated so many certified kooks during the primary season.Ah hah! That just means that the GOP isn't Right enough. It's all right! Moo ha-ha!

Isn't life wonderful?Obviously. We'll finally get to see the machinery of State put in to action…impeaching so-called "president" Obama and uncovering the fraud of so-called "Global Warmening".

The people of Minnesota have re-elected Michelle Bachman.Michele Bachmann. VP in 2012! Woo!

They actually believe that the mess their country finds itself in was created by Barack Obama - when in fact it wasn't.Government has two duties: Minimize taxation and maximize negative externalities. Barack tried to help people. America wasn't founded on helping people. It was founded on screwing people over!.

They think that Obama is a radical socialist - when in fact he's nothing of the sort.Pah! Dealing with the death-spiraling, in-industry generated failure of healthcare insurance by getting the government involved is, wait for it, SOCIALISM!!!

They even believe they're being taxed more by this president - when in fact ninety-five percent of them are being taxed...Ah hah! So you admit that we're being taxed more!

Expect the same kind of persecution of this administration that dogged the Clinton White House twelve years ago. Count on it.No way. It will be better. FoxNews didn't start up until '96. Some of the major news companies still had research staff then, too. Did you know that Obama's trip to India costed $200,000,000 a day?! I know!

Clarence H.N. Thomas"Republicans will have de facto control."And that's different from the last two years, how?

Catharine"I believe this country died as a great nation the year it elected Bush in 06."It was '04. And that was a reaffirmation of everything America stands for; slopping government largesse at connected friends (Note: when Democrats do it it's called "pork").

Ellis D., Esq."You would be amazed how kind people can be when treated well and given a fair deal."That sounds like Commie talk! All Real Americans™ want is to know that people below them have it worse. The GOP makes that happen.

charles moore"While it is true that the GOP took back the House, the Democrats still control the Senate so there will have to be some give and take."The Dems barely controlled it when they had more people. They're Dems. That's how they work. Barely.

"Next, let's all just agree that nothing is going to be accomplished during the next two years."Lies! See "Impeachment" comment above.

"Now that they have a bit of a majority, the Republicans are going to actually have to do something rather than just sit back and say 'no'."How so? When they put forward privatizing Social Security, defunding Obamacare, undoing Credit Card Reform, abolishing Bank Reform, clawing back the unspent remains of the Stimulus, re-restricting stem cell research, etc, and Obama (or the Senate) vetoes or votes it down, that will be all the Dems fault.

Anonymous"If they give money to the big 3 autos they will be back in 3 months asking for more because they made losses during good times and now new car sales in the US have dropped 50% in the last 2 months. Plus their cars are gas guzzling shit boxes."Hey! Ford has a great turbo V6. And the Mustang. And that little thing that's really a not very good Mazda. GM has dropped most of the cars nobody cares about. And they have the Camaro. Challenger notwithstanding, Chrysler is screwed.

"Their executives are overpaid…"Lies! The Invisible Hand of the Free Market chooses their wages! It's never wrong!

"...and so are their workers."Even the new ones making sixteen bucks an hour. Lazy bastards. They just sit there, eight hours a day, five shifts a week for thirty years doing the same few actions over and over and over and over again! Luxury!

boltok"Rinos, red state dems, and Obama are next."Hell yeah! What America needs is One [Sliver of One] Party rule! Woo! Go democracy!

"BTW: Photo looks like Aspen. The biggest joke are the limo liberals."Yeah! And the GOP cares so much about Fiscal Responsibility that they fly coach! Take that, Hollywood liberals!

Anonymous"Perhaps living wisely and forming community is the answer to the madness.""Community"? That sounds like SOCIALISM!!! Tribalism is where it's at.

ArchieBunkerNYC"P.S. Why is it Tom that all the Blue States run by your kind are Bankrupt?"[Ignore the Red States that have similar problems] [Ignore the Red States that get more back from the Fed than they put in and have similar problems] [Basically, ignore every Red State except for Texas]

RedStateFred"LOL, California is a complete disgrace and bankrupt due to the failed policies of the Socialists in power there."Yeah! It has nothing to Prop 13, or the many Props since when where the People vote for something but not how to fund it! Take that Democracy!

tnlib"Will you stand up for folks like me who are called Nazi, Socialist, Communist Elitest - all in the same breath? I'm kind of tired of that shit too."Don't forget "unpatriotic" and "traitor"! (Those will again take effect after there's a Republican in the White House)

Avram Mirsky"Meanwhile in the state least connected to common reality that I call home, Floridians hand the state house over to a guy who was CEO of the a company that committed the largest Medicare fraud in history…"Pah! Typical liberal spin! The correct way to say it is "He has experience in the Free Market".

"...and also sent progressive hero Allen Grayson packing from the House."That'll teach him to say that mortgage companies foreclosing on properties that they don't own is "wrong" and that them "making up" the paperwork to "cover their asses" is somehow fraud. I mean, come on! A true populist would be fighting for their right to just take it!

Excellent post Tom. It appears that we truly are among the few remaining sane individuals that see the future of America as very bleak following these mid-term elections.

For the debacle we witnessed this past November 2nd, we can safety blame the Democrats for not having argued with force the accomplishments made in the past two years. Meanwhile the Republicans were using every opportunity to distort the truth.

What bothers me all the more is that Republicans can't remember beyond a mosquitoes twitter what has happened while we watched under the leadership of Senor Bush - may he rot in hell!

In eight years, he lied to the American people. He robbed the middle-class of its rightful role of paying the majority of the taxes received by our Municipal, State, and Federal governments.

Thanks for being a voice we can identify with under all circumstances.

Who wants to dwell on the past election. I thought I'd give you something to look forward to. With the triumvirate of Obama/Reid/Pelosi going strong for the next two years, I am giving you my list of Republican Senate pickups in '12. Enjoy.

Bill Nelson of FloridaDebbie Stabenow of MichiganAmy Klobuchar of MinnesotaClaire McCaskill of MissouriJon Tester of MontanaBen Nelson of NebraskaJeff Bingaman of New MexicoKent Conrad of North DakotaSherrod Brown of OhioBob Casey, Jr. of PennsylvaniaSheldon Whitehouse of Rhode IslandJim Webb of VirginiaMaria Cantwell of WashingtonJoe Manchin of West Virginia (unless he behaves like a conservative)Herb Kohl of Wisconsin

Modus, can you convey your thoughts in less than 10,000 words. Word salad.

Anonymous (time stamp: 2:23 PM), try acting like an adult, and reading a little, before throwing out such childish blather. If you believe what you wrote, which it appears you do, it's evident your sole source of news and information is Fox News.

Educate yourself, man, and you'll understand the real reasons that got us to this point. Admittedly, it'll take some effort on your part, but you'll be a better person because of it. Try it. A whole new world will open up in front of your currently blind eyes.

Barney franks boyfriend Herb? Moses, was in charge of subprime mortgage origination at Fannie Mae. His other boyfriends run grow houses and pimp services from Barney's premises. News services other than fox will substantiate those stories.

boltok"Modus, can you convey your thoughts in less than 10,000 words."No. I told you before that I'm being as terse as I can be while still conveying whateverthepointis. It's not my fault that you can't concentrate. Try cutting back on the sugar.

"The economic mess was created by the DEMOCRAT congress that took over in 2006."Wrong. The economic mess was created with the triump of market populism back in the late 90's (ignoring the lessons of less than two decades before). The bubble (of course, not thought at the time to be a bubble by most, with the few dissenters marginalized and ignored because nobody cares where the road leads when you flipped a house for profit) was promoted by both parties, the media, and the populace at large, as well as policies at the Fed that stretched the bubble.

"Let's put the adults back in charge."We would, but there's only one Obama. And, despite scrappiness and actual populism, Grayson lost.

Anonymous"Barney franks boyfriend Herb? Moses, was in charge of subprime mortgage origination at Fannie Mae. His other boyfriends run grow houses and pimp services from Barney's premises."Classy. Start here. PBS's Frontline also has excellent coverage from 2007 up here (and there's plenty there that you can read in bad faith or quotemine because, and I can't stress this enough, everybody is, to some degree, at fault. Even the guys who tried to stabilize the market just ended up delaying the bubble's pop).Then, like a Creationist arguing against the Theory of Evolution, you'll at least have some idea of what you're talking about.

I'll get you started (and excuse me if I get anything wrong, as this is from memory)Terse version: In days of yore, the bank that gave you your mortgage held it (making it their own best interest to ensure that it's a good mortgage). Deregulation lead to Wall Street giving you a mortgage, who then bundled them together and sold them in bulk as Mortgage Backed Securities, which is theoretically not a bad idea, but practically (as recent history has shown) it's a terrible one, since they have no investment (little to gain by making sure that the mortgages are good and nothing to lose if they pawn the MBSs off on "marks" before they collapse. Bonuses all round, record profits, etc).

As long as they could be sold faster than they failed, Wall Street didn't lose anything, since (ideally) they no longer held them.

To promote these MBSs they got ratings agencies (who by that point got a considerable amount of their business from Wall Street and were beholden to them) to highly rate these mortgages of, politely, wildly variable quality, making them appear risk-free when they were not ("Backed by the solid value of Real Estate").

They also got other groups on Wall Street (AIG being the most potent example) to insure their MBSs via Credit Default Swaps (whether they held the MBSs or not), sucking yet another group in while guaranteeing that those in the know got yet another round of commissions and bonuses. Essentially, it's like life insurance, except that they hold the insurance and are betting among themselves how soon you'll die. Note that whether you die or survive, you don't get anything out of the transaction. Neat, innit?...Terser version: Deregulation, disconnect between mortgage lender and mortgage holder, MBSs, ratings agencies, and CDSs, all contributed to a massive bubble where no matter what, Wall Street made money. They got commissions when they gave mortgages, commissions when they bundled and sold them, payment when they covered them with a CDS, bonuses for giving more mortgages than the guy in the seat beside them, annual bonuses for record profits, and, when the house of cards collapsed, the connected players got both a bailout and got to pick through the guts of failed Wall Streeters....Epilogue: To punish Wall Street we gave them TARP (which after initially failing became a bipartisan bill. One that, incidentally, exempts everyone involved from all US laws), which saved the economy from total collapse (since the economy an interconnected web and not a series of islands) and, post election, very very weak regulation. CDSs are still virtually unregulated. MBS are still unregulated. Nobody is going to jail....Postscript: If you think any of this would be any different under the GOP, think again. They helped pass TARP (they were only against it after Obama took office) and and did their best to prevent (or water down) re-regulating them. The Party that's against bailouts is quite willing to give them, while at the same time fighting against any regulation that would help to prevent the same thing from happening again. And the Teabaggers are the same, but louder.

Tom, hey, I was born in Louisville! I spent my first three years there and have gone back a couple times since. I always somehow feel like I am coming home when I see all those rolling hills and white fences holding in the blue grass.

We don't get the government we deserve. WE deserve democracy, we deserve the right to be free of pain, to have some kind of decent shelter and enough food to remain healthy/ It's in everyone's interest to bring the bottom most rung of the social ladder way up above the lapping waves of poverty. We could all be comfortably fairly well off, with a little house , a garden and mass transit, except you can't have that with all the money flowing uphill to make billionaires out of millionaires, which is the intent and sole purpose of our current society. When the dollar finally tanks and the uber rich are middle class we will see a shift towards the left and things will get better until they can figure out how to game the system and get fabulously wealthy at the expense of thousands of poor folk. But we could stop that if we had the balls to be radicals instead of reactionaries. Ya gotta be willing to eat pepper gas and breath tear gas and run like a gassed bunny from the pigs. Ya gotta be willing to take a rubber bullet to the forehead and lose all traces of your mind. Who's ready to die for democracy, kiddos, raise your hands! sigh, me neither. I have a wife who needs me, a daughter who loves me and a son who spends his days in a coma ward not moving. People need me intact. But I can post, I can write letters and I can stand outside the post office with an anti-war banner. So I think I will.

I won't pretend to be as politically up to speed as the lot of you who post, much less than that of Tom Degan and his well written rants. I am, however, always entertained by the "my party" mentality which promotes the other guy as the sole holder of blame. The economic condition, as I understand it, was impacted by these poorly thought out wars, however the foundation was poured by Democrats prior to and during the Bush administration by their efforts to give everyone the "American Dream". Please correct me if I misunderstand this.

What we have done, as nation, was ride the opulence of the Dot Com Boom and act is if that level of economic success would never crest. Our politicians, in turn, failed to lead, rather pushed the "Dream" which allowed them further job security. I'm not sure which is more disgusting, the posturing of the Religious Right or the selective memory of the Liberal Left.

When Obama was elected he was the pretty, anti-Bush candidate that served as a symbol that America was progressive. In his own words he has stated that he legislated rather than lead. He was a poor choice to lead this country and to dismiss that decision in your rants and tirades is very myopic. The only two candidates from the "major" parties who warranted any real consideration were Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney. That neither of them was an option should be more of a focus as opposed the token past president blaming that goes on.

Talk about being sheep.

That said, always nice to read the well thought out comments from whatever perspective. As Rain noted, the negativity is counter productive. Hopefully the rants serve as catharsis to do something better in your community so the government doesn't have to.

It may be the case the problem is inherently in the two parties themselves, i.e. neither can be counted on to lead effectively.

I stand by all my affirmitave action mortgage policies to put more people in houses with no down payments and no history of regular employment and income. Since the good people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have just reelected me to the House, I say "Lets roll the dice one mo time!"

We could reduce our national debt by charging to take a leak or dump on FDR's grave in Hyde Park, New York.

I propose the following:

- taking a leak on FDRs grave would cost $10

- taking a dump would cost $25

We would have to add an irrigation system, but it would probably be paid off after the first week of operation. We could hire union workers to build the irrigation system even if the cost overruns were as proportional to the Big Dig in Boston.

I believe that allowing people to take a leak or dump on FDR's grave would be a great revenue generator for the US Government and reduce our national debt.

Anonymous"Modus: 'Barney franks boyfriend Herb?'"A cursory googling of that shows probable conflict of interest. I assume the GOP didn't go after Frank because, at the time, they were too busy chasing Bill Clinton.

"Moses, was in charge of subprime mortgage origination at Fannie Mae."Okay. And? He worked there from 91-98. Before the mess. Before the repeal of Glass-Steagall. Before, even, political pressure to increase the number of mortgages given to people who had been "redlined" (redlining is the practice of denying you a mortgage not because you're a risk, but because you live in "the wrong neighbourhood", *wink wink*).

"His other boyfriends run grow houses..."{citation needed}

"...and pimp services from Barney's premises."{citation needed}

"Classless Barney Frank. All of the above is true."Considering, granting you half a point for the possibility of Frankian chicanery in point #1, out of four you got 0.5...Also, kudos for ignoring everything I said. Ignore me, if you must, but the two links in this comment will, in the very least, help you not to be an ignorant hyperpartisan boob. Unless that's what your going for, in which case, kudos, you've given up on the discomfitting facts of reality in exchange for a comfortable fantasy.

boltok"Even the computer thinks you talk too much."Zing! If I had any respect for you whatsoever, that would've stung. I have yet to see even a glimmer of humanity in you.

B. W. Fullford"When Obama was elected he was the pretty, anti-Bush candidate that served as a symbol that America was progressive. In his own words he has stated that he legislated rather than lead. He was a poor choice to lead this country and to dismiss that decision in your rants and tirades is very myopic."Actually, my problems with Obama stem from his continued stretching of Executive Power. Economically, he's done pretty well, considering the opposition.

"It may be the case the problem is inherently in the two parties themselves, i.e. neither can be counted on to lead effectively."It's easier to destroy than create. This mess has been decades in the making. We don't have an economy anymore, we've got a series of bubbles.While neither party is perfect, they are not equivalent.

Tea Bagger Patriot"We could reduce our national debt by charging to take a leak or dump on FDR's grave in Hyde Park, New York."Classy. Would you prefer that he never have existed? Do you have a hankering for the Gilded Age? Keep in mind that, statistically (much like now), you're far from likely to be on the positive end of that bargain.

Boltok"Grow Househttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/barney-frank-was-present_n_349648.html"First, I find it hard to believe that if Frank had seen the plants, he wouldn't recognize them (depending, of course, on how visible the "small plants" were in among the wherever they were. A small pot plant, ironically, just looks like a weed).Second, "small marijuana plants" stretches considerably the meaning of "grow house". That the punishment was a fine rather than the stupid amount of jail time grow ops get buttresses my point.

"Pimp Servicehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/frank.htm"Poor decision making on his part, sure, but he was reprimanded. And also not charged with anything. Here is a version with more details. I see him as being terribly naive; not the best characteristic for a politician, but I'll take naivety over maliciousness any day.

Sir, the past always has a lesson for those taking the time to review the pass in order to plot the future...

The British should have taught Bush that taming the ME is a lost cause... he read tea leaves instead and bought a war on credit!

Economics 101 teaches us that you can't spend, not earn a darn thing, and expect the bills to be paid without going into to debt. The severity of the amount of debt is directly proportional to the illiteracy of the debtor!

Please be reminded that the Republican Party is advocating the same policies that got us eight trillion in debt in eight years of not balancing the budget. What makes it worst is the same Party hasn't a clue as to how they are going to pay for the tax cuts they want to grant to the rich!